This study is located within the field of Educational Leadership and Management and the research was undertaken in a boys’ private boarding school in Grahamstown, South Africa. Learner Leadership within the ELM field of study, has gained much interest in recent times and as the process of democratisation within schools continues to take place, it is important that research efforts be more focused in this area. The lack of learner voice initiatives within South African schools, in spite of policies being in place that encourage it, has created the impression that learner leadership is far more about rhetoric than actual practice. This appears to be the case in private education as well, owing to practices that are reliant on hierarchy and tradition to cement their position within these schools. It was with this in mind that a formative peer mentoring intervention was put in place in a boarding house at St Andrew’s College, a private boys’ school in Grahamstown, South Africa, with the object of developing authentic leadership in a boarding house context. This study was framed by Cultural Historical Activity Theory and sought to investigate how a guided learner leadership programme could foster authentic leadership in a boys’ boarding school context. The intervention consisted of three phases: 1) a pre-intervention questionnaire; 2) a Mentoring Course, during which Grade 12 learners were trained how to be mentors; and 3) a Mentoring Programme, during which Grade 12 learners were each allocated a Grade 8 learner to mentor during the course of the year. Data was collected during all three phases of the intervention and said data was obtained via questionnaires, interviews and from notes kept in an observation journal. The data was analysed inductively and later by using Cultural Historical Activity Theory, which acted as a lens through which data was interpreted. The findings reflected that learners responded well to the Mentoring Course and that they participated as active agents of change. It was during the Mentoring Programme, where contradictions became apparent and where the default to practices associated with hierarchy and tradition became evident. The Mentoring Programme did reflect some positive results, such as learners taking more ownership of the Programme and becoming critical of their own practice as mentors. This led to the further take-up of the Mentoring Programme in other boarding houses at St Andrew’s College after the intervention, and the course continues to grow and improve. My recommendations include that broader research be undertaken generally, to understand the role that tradition and hierarchy play, particularly in private schools, so that more authentic learner leadership can be put in place, and to conduct a longitudinal study to establish the success of the Mentoring Programme at St Andrew’s College specifically, over time.

This thesis is a qualitative, historical study of The Good Shepherd School in Huntly Street, Grahamstown, South Africa. It is one of the oldest school buildings in South Africa that remains in use as a school. There are two main threads to understanding The Good Shepherd School in context. The first of these threads, the colonial root of the school, is explained in a discussion of the Grammar School, attached to the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. George, that utilised the Huntly Street facilities from 1851 to 1902. The second thread is the strong tradition of caring for the underprivileged. This is traced through following the development of the educational works of The Community of the Resurrection which involves the discussion of various schools at different locations in Grahamstown. The current school on the Huntly Street premises, The Good Shepherd School, forms, however, the focus of this study, which draws on all the histories of its forerunners and their historical locations. Historical social science methods and procedures were used in the research. This was done through documentary analysis of evidence as well as through semi-structured interviews, creating an interpretative account of how the school has affected people's lives. The conclusion reached is that The Good Shepherd School has contributed greatly to the education of underprivileged people in the Grahamstown area. It appears to be an outstanding example of a school offering a well-rounded, caring education when this was historically denied to many people in South Africa.

Health Studies / M.A. (Health Studies)

The motive for conducting this study was to determine the extent in which aspects of transformational leadership identified during literature study are practiced in the sampled primary schools in Limpopo. The study was divided into seven interlinked chapters. Chapter one introduced the investigation. Chapter two presented the definition and description of the notion transformational leadership and its five constituting elements, namely shared vision, commitment, motivation, job satisfaction and participative decision-making. A transformational leadership model was also presented in chapter two. Chapter three focused on the primary education systems of Republic of South Africa and the three selected Southern African Development Community member states, namely Malawi, Lesotho and Namibia. The discussion focused on the structure, organization, objectives and the challenges facing each SADC member state. Chapter three further identified the challenges facing primary schools in Limpopo and compared these to the challenges of the three selected SADC member states. The details of the research design and methodology were presented in chapter four. The empirical study took a two-pronged approach. Phase one of the empirical study was conducted through the administration of questionnaires to sampled principals and educators. In the second phase, sampled principals, educators and circuit managers were interviewed. The empirical study was intended to give answers to the following research questions:  To what extent are primary school principals as leaders involved in: • initiating visions that are shared and owned by other role players? • making sure that educators remain committed to their profession? • ensuring that educators are kept motivated? • ensuring that educators remain satisfied in their profession?  To what extent do principals involve other role players in the decision-making processes? iv In addition to that, the following research hypothesis was tested: • There is a significant relationship (in terms of descriptive statistics) between identified leadership emphasis in Limpopo primary schools and the key features of transformational leadership. And conversely the null hypothesis tested was: • There is no significant relationship (in terms of descriptive statistics) between identified leadership emphasis in Limpopo primary schools and the key features of transformational leadership. In phase one, data was quantitatively collected through questionnaires (principals and educators). Data was further gathered through semi-structured interviews and observation in phase two. To give a clear and a logical presentation of the data analysis and interpretation, both quantitative and qualitative data were presented separately in chapters five and six. This study produced the following findings: The majority of primary school principals do: • involve other role players in the development of their school visions. • ensure that educators are committed to their responsibilities. • ensure that educators remain motivated. • ensure that educators are job satisfied. • create opportunities wherein role players are involved in decision-making processes. The views of respondents from the survey data (both principals and educators) indicated that there is a significant relationship (in terms of descriptive statistics) between identified leadership emphasis in Limpopo primary schools and the key features of transformational leadership. Based on the findings above, the conclusion deduced was that the majority of primary school principals exhibit transformational leadership attributes. / Education Studies / D. Ed. (Education Managment)

Text in Afrikaans / Ouers was aanvanklik verantwoordelik vir die onderwys van hul kinders. Namate die samelewing komplekser geword het, het die staat as instelling by die onderwys betrokke geraak met die doel om individue en gemeenskappe te ontwikkel in belang van openbare welsyn. Die onderwystaak van die staat het in so 'n mate uitgebrei dat die staat vandag die onderwys monopoliseer. Mettertyd het die staat en groepe in die samelewing probleme met staatsbeheerde onderwys ervaar. Onderwys het duur geword, en bevredig ook nie die behoeftes van almal in die gemeenskap nie. Privatisering van die onderwys word toenemend beskou as 'n moontlike oplossing vir probleme van die onderwys. Privatisering vind sy oorsprong by die vryemarkdenke van die ekonomie, en dit beklemtoon verantwoordelikheid en vryheid van keuse. Alhoewel privatisering primer 'n ekonomiese motief het, het dit ook ander motiewe, waaronder 'n politieke motief. Privatisering neem verskeie vorms aan en het spesifieke doelwitte asook bepaalde voor- en nadele. Die hantering van die verskaffing van kapitaaldienste in die openbare onderwys in Suid-Afrika bewys dat sekere funksies van die staat in samewerking met die private sektor volledig en suksesvol geprivatiseer kan word. Ander onderwystake is elders geprivatiseer en hou baie voordele in, veral vir die individu en vir groepe in die gemeenskap. Privatisering van die onderwys loop uit op private skole. Bestaande private skole maak baie aansprake, onder meer dat dit onafhanklikheid en kwaliteitonderwys in die hand werk. Dit is egter baie moeilik om klinkklare bewyse vir die aansprake van private skole te vind. Alhoewel private skole van elitisme en separatisme beskuldig word, strewe openbare skole ook na 'n eie etos. Privatisering van die onderwys bied opwindende moontlikhede vir en uitdagings aan die staat, die samelewing en die private sektor. Dit behoort die verantwoordelikheid van die onderwys terug te besorg aan die ouers en die gemeenskap, en sal die soewereiniteit van die onderwys verseker. Privatisering van die onderwys moet egter altyd die belange van die kind eerste stel. Suksesvolle privatisering van die onderwys sal dus deeglike evolusionere beplanning deur die staat en die samelewing verg. / Parents were originally responsible for the education of their children. As society became more complex, the state as an institution became involved in education with the aim to develop individuals and communities in the interest of general well-being. Education has now become the responsibility of the state to such an extent that the state presently monopolises education. The state, and groups within the community, have now come to experience problems with state-controlled education. Education has become expensive and does not make provision for distinctive education for individual groups in the community. Privatisation of education is increasingly regarded as a possible way of solving problems in education. Privatisation originates in the economic concept of the free market, and it stresses responsibility and freedom of choice. Although privatisation has an economic motive, it also has other motives, including a political one. Privatisation assumes many forms and has specific aims, as well as advantages and disadvantages. The handling of the provision of capital of the services in South Africa is proof that certain functions of the state can be very successfully privatised. Other tasks in education have also been privatised and these tasks have many advantages, especially for the individual and for groups in the community. Privatisation of education culminates in the private school. Existing private schools claim, among others, that they promote independence and quality education. It is, however, very difficult to prove, unequivocally, the claims of private schools. Although private schools are accused of elitism and divisiveness, public schools also strive for an own ethos. Privatisation of education offers the state, the community and the private sector exciting possibilities of education and challenges. It should ensure the sovereignty of education and once again place the responsibility for education on the parents and the community. Privatisation of education should, however, always put the interests of the child first. The successful privatisation of education will therefore require thorough and evolutionary planning by the state and the community. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Vergelykende Opvoedkunde)

This thesis sought to explore how community volunteers could be recruited, supported and sustained to assist a community school operating in difficult socioeconomic conditions in achieving basic school functionality. Through a collaborative process, the participants in the study attempted to address a significant gap in the literature, namely how this could be achieved in a way that would be beneficial both to the community volunteers and to the school itself. Based on existing literature, the vast majority of South African schools are struggling to reach the basic functionality levels required in terms of legislation. My interest in this topic was piqued while serving as principal of one such school; hence the focus in this thesis on whether schools would benefit in terms of achieving functionality if they partnered with the communities in which they are located. However, communities are seldom actively involved in the schools and school activities on an ongoing daily basis. In this thesis, I argue for an opportunity for schools and the community to collaborate in a way that would be mutually beneficial. In this, I was guided by the School-Based Complementary Learning Framework (SBCLF) in gaining a greater understanding of how multiple stakeholders could support a school to obtain basic functionality. A key stakeholder is the community in which a school is located, and the multidimensional framework provided a framework to understand why the community would want to get involved in the school. Following a Participatory Action Learning and Action Research (PALAR) design, I recruited 15 community volunteers from the existing pool at my then school; some of whom had been volunteering for over twelve years. We formed an action learning set where we collaboratively sought to understand the processes and conditions needed to recruit, support and sustain community volunteers and their involvement in the school. From this action learning set emerged a key advisors’ set, comprising five members of the action learning set, who were entrusted with the responsibility of planning, preparing and analysing the action learning set meetings. Transcripts and visual artefacts from the action learning set meetings and a focus group meeting of the school management team were analysed to generate data, complemented by secondary sources, such as documents. This participatory approach to data generation allowed the voice of every participant to be heard; agency was increased through active participation; and the sense of affiliation to the group was deepened. The iterative design of the research process further ensured that the participants also engaged in a critical discourse analysis of the emerging data, of which the trustworthiness was enhanced through the use of dialogic and process, catalytic, rhetoric, democratic and outcome validity. The emergence of the data through this collaborative engagement was underpinned by the ethical values of mutual respect; equality and inclusion; democratic participation; active learning; making a difference; collective action; and personal integrity. The findings revealed that community volunteers did add immense value to the school by supporting teaching and learning processes. However, the community volunteers also harboured expectations of material support and opportunities to develop skills. In addition, the study revealed that the hierarchical culture and structures present in most South African schools need to become more democratic and collaborative, with those working to make the school more functional, including community volunteers, being valued, acknowledged and supported. The participants also constructed their understanding of what a community school should be and do and how it should serve the interests of the children from the community. A process model was constructed from these findings regarding on ways to recruit, sustain and support community volunteers involved in community schools, specially designed so that schools could adapt it to suit individual contexts. This study is unique; I am not aware of any similar study ever having been conducted in a community school in South Africa. Furthermore, the collaborative approach used in the study helped ensure that the methodology used could be of value to principals and other school stakeholders in addressing the various complex challenges that confront schools in these contexts. Also, the findings will add to the theoretical body of knowledge around volunteerism, especially in difficult socioeconomic conditions.

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Education in the Faculty of Education at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2013 / The purpose of this study was to explore teachers‟ perspectives on school bullying with insights from two primary schools in Cape Town. The topic of „bullying‟ is not a new one in research; however this study investigated the factors affecting teachers‟ perspectives on school bullying and how these perspectives affect the way teachers responded to incidents of bullying. The concepts of habitus, capital and field were used to provide a theoretical lens through which to examine the topic. The study was based on a small sample of 31 teachers drawn from two primary schools. The study employed a mixed-method approach in which quantitative and qualitative principles were applied. The study consisted of two phases in which data collection took place. The first was a questionnaire, while the second involved interviews. The application of two data- collecting instruments helped to ensure triangulation, thereby enhancing the credibility of the process. Findings indicated that teachers have various conceptions of bullying; this is partly determined by their gender, but also by the way in which they grew up and experienced bullying themselves as children.

Thesis (MTech(Education))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / This dissertation researches the connection between the training of low literate child carers in a ruraI area to stimulate the language development of children from birth to 4 years, and school performance, Here it is argued that the problem of the low literacy performance of ruraI learners manifests within the first year of school and that the potential to solve the problem can be found in the first four years of a child's life. All the intervention strategies of the Department of Education failed to produce the expected results while the Department of Social development focuses on the physical needs of the young child. The literature study underlines the importance of the first four years and how interpersonal relationships influence children's emotional well being, their behaviour and ability to learn. The role of the child carer in the life of the child in relation to their language development is researched, because of the time they spend together during the day. Attention is focussed on the relationship between the educator and the child and the influence of the hidden curriculum on the development of attitudes and values of the child carer during training. Training was used by the researcher as a method to investigate the learning needs and problems of low literate child carers in order to stimulate the language development of children before the age of five. Existing training programmes for child carers were critically investigated to use for the training. The researcher came to the conclusion that this research can be the first phase of a project where different role players can cooperate. Educators and community developers can interact with communities to promote awareness

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Master of Education in the Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology 2014 / Educationists and political leaders are concerned about the high dropout rates experienced in South African high schools. For the purposes of this research, “dropout” is defined as “one who has not graduated from high school”. Research indicates that the high school dropout rates, both in South Africa and globally, culminate in challenges for the school, the community and society. The multigrade primary school environment sees learners doing well academically, but when these learners move on to high school, the dropout rates increase for these learners. The purpose of this study is two-fold: to determine the reasons for dropout of learners who have ably and successfully completed their primary education within the multigrade system; and to propose a strategy to assist rural multigrade primary schools in reducing the foreseen dropout rates in high schools. A sequential explanatory mixed-method approach was designed in order to determine what strategy could assist rural multigrade schools in Circuit 2 of the West Coast Education District to prevent the dropout rate experienced in high schools. During the preliminary research a scrupulous literature study was done, to determine global trends and to determine which current intervention programmes exist. The quantitative phase of this study was conducted first and consisted of a content analysis of school documents to determine which learners did not complete high school. The qualitative phase followed and the data was collected through face-to-face interviews with principals of rural multigrade primary schools, and learners who had dropped out. This was done in order to determine the perceptions of the principals, and the former learners who had dropped out of the schooling system. This research elucidates the challenges – the inexorable odds – that these multigrade learners have had to overcome in order to complete Grade 12. In closing, it proposes pragmatic strategies which may decrease the high dropout rates that learners, from a multigrade primary setting, experience in future.

Thesis (MTech (Education and Social Sciences))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2009 / This study examines the nature and the extent of school gang activity and how it impacts on learner academic performance in South African township schools. The research evidence shows that learners in South Africa have been exposed to widespread school gang activity leading to poor learner academic performance in the township schools. The effects of the phenomenon of school gang activity on learner academic performance are given a more insightful understanding of its effects. The literature review supports the central argument that school gang activity persists in South African schools, especially in the townships. In addition, the literature provides both international and local perspectives of the high prevalence of school gang activity and claims that it results in an insecure teaching and learning environment. The specific research design selected for the study is a phenomenological study and is qualitative, explorative and descriptive in nature. A semi-structured interview method was employed to gather the data required. The findings of the study reveal that many learners in the township schools experience direct incidences of school gang activity either at school or on the way to or from school. In addition, the findings reveal that feelings of insecurity are most intense in the classroom situation because the opportunities to escape danger are minimal. The conclusions drawn from the study are that classrooms are dangerous places and this impacts on the ability of learners to achieve academically. Based on the findings, this mini-dissertation recommends collaborative efforts of all role-players to interact and produce amicable strategies and solutions that will decrease the occurrence of school gang activities and school violence. Gang activity in schools severely hinders learner academic performance. Hence incorporating interdisciplinary perspectives, involving activities such as teamwork and programme development can provide some solutions. This mini-dissertation is dedicated to my little angel, Avuyile Boqwana, in memory of the day she was born. I said that day, "A professor is born in my house," trusting that my wishes will be fulfilled one day. As young as she is, she is the source of all my inspirations to pursue life-long learning. My little is a source of motivation every time I look at her. She is my hope for the future. It was her enduring love when she always missed her bedtimes waiting for me to come back from my late tiring sessions that provided "the wind beneath my wings" to complete this educational journey.